


Sunflower and Sunshine

by PaleAutumn



Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Bees, Cute, Domestic Fluff, Don't copy to another site, Florist Ichigo, Fluff, Friendship, Gift Fic, Happy Ending, He just wants to be happy and do what he loves, M/M, are they dating??? the world may never know tbh, he owns a cute flower shop it's just the cutest thing ever, ichigo names every single one of his bees you can't change my mind, is it ShiroIchi? majority vote says yes, it's like super cute Ichi is trying so hard, they probably say no
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-10-20 08:50:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20672612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaleAutumn/pseuds/PaleAutumn
Summary: Ichigo Kurosaki is a flower shop owner in an alley of other shops. Though he sometimes struggled to pay the rent for the building, he had never wanted to give it up. He had loved it. However, life isn't always as nice as it threatens to take away the hobby that makes him happy. Florist AU.





	Sunflower and Sunshine

**Author's Note:**

  * For [o_WinterQueen_o](https://archiveofourown.org/users/o_WinterQueen_o/gifts).

> I present to you my gift fic for Kari!!! HAPPY VERY EARLY BIRTHDAY!!! I finished the fic early for you cause I got excited :'> And I couldn't wait sO I GIVE YOU YOUR FLORIST BEAN. BUT I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE LITERALLY THE SOURCE OF MY HAPPINESS AND INSPIRATION. I'm so glad I got to know you and that you're a part of my life T ^ T you're my most precious bean and my wife and I could never ask for anything more in my life. 
> 
> Like Ichigo and his flower shop :> I hOPE U LIKE IT. Alsoo~~
> 
> The art at the end was done by the love SomethingSomeone on AO3. DARIA IS MY SUNSHINE??? MY ONLY SUNSHINE AND HER ART IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE GIFT WE BOTH WORKED VERY HARD ON!! Her coloring is beautiful and everything about it is perfect. I seriously could never ask for two better people in my life <3
> 
> Enjoy the fic!

He had done this a thousand times before, yet now, it felt unfamiliar. Ichigo climbed up the steps slowly, exerting all his strength to keep the box in his hand perfectly stable. Each slight movement on it created low buzzing sounds, ringing across the stairwell.

“Shh, we’re almost there,” Ichigo whispered, clutching it even tighter as he walked closer to his destination. When the door came into view, he steadily turned around and pressed his back against the handle. With a strong push, it opened.

The sun beamed directly on them, briefly lighting up the entire hall. Momentarily blinded, he shut his eyes as the warmth bathed him. Once it settled down, Ichigo slowly opened them, placing the box next to a hive shelf set near the left of the roof. All along the wall were small trees and plants, ranging from fruit trees to flower bushes. Instead of roof tiles in that section, he had grown grass and more flowers.

He was glad it was still here.

Ichigo couldn’t help but smile, removing the lid from the hive box he previously moved back into place. He removed a few of the frames that lay vertically along the inside and grabbed the package he was carrying before. On the other side of the mesh were hundreds of bees crawling around. Though he had too many in the past to recall after he packed them away, he had a feeling these were his. After all, he lovingly wrote a message saying to take care of them along the edges.

“C’mon guys, it’s time to put you back home.” Ichigo took the spray bottle he put on the ground before and sprayed them with sugar water to keep them less aggravated and stuck together for the transfer. “I even got you cuties totally new frames to build a nest.” He cut the strap on the outside that held the queen bee cage, letting the free ones fly around him. Of course, they didn’t sting him or anything.

He wasn’t a threat to them after taking care of them for so long.

Ichigo stapled the strap onto the top of one frame, letting the cage rest. With the amount of bees that he had, the others should eat the candy out to free the queen within three days. His smile grew impossibly wide as he removed the food blocking the entrance for the ones in the box next. Gently slamming the package of bees to get them all to the bottom, he sprayed them with sugar water again. “Almost there, just hold out a bit longer for me.”

To get them all inside, he flipped it over, shaking it to make sure they made their way in. Some fell straight down, others swarmed the queen cage, and several more explored the frames where they’d be building their new nests.

All the sounds of buzzing and hundreds of little bodies roaming and flying around was music to his ears. Before closing the lid, he put all the frames back in and placed a jar full of sugar syrup for the bees. It had tiny holes punched out on the lid for their food source to leak out slowly when it was turned upside down.

“There you go, that should be all you need for now. I promise I’ll plant you new plants and expand the place back to what it was before,” Ichigo said and put the lid on. For the opening near the bottom of the hive, he put an entrance gate, which just made it easier for the bees to guard from robber species.

Not even an hour ago, he had accepted the fact he would never see the sight again. The sight of the bees flying around and pollinating the flowers, the trees swaying in the wind, the shops lining the street … It was all still here. Untouched.

Sighing, he walked over to the edge of the roof and looked down. The street was as empty as usual, but there was always that passing group when they needed something here. Each shop still had their lights on and their names were as he remembered them too. They were all here. Together, like one family.

He leaned forward and put his arms on the edge, taking it all in. God, he missed it. To think he had to give it up that one time ... Ichigo could recall the day like it was yesterday.

A large group of people had walked into his shop. They came in with polished suits, not a wrinkle in sight. Even their ties were perfectly made. Their hair was clearly styled and combed back for the occasion. They wanted over fifteen wedding bouquets and heard his shop was well reviewed amongst those who went.

To say he was ecstatic was an understatement. Ichigo had never received an order for such an event as important as this one. He felt honored. Prideful even. Not to mention they were paying a large amount of money that could ease the stress of rent. Of course he accepted.

At first, it didn’t seem like a hard job. They asked for colors like purples, blues, and whites, but shades that weren’t harsh. Light colors, pastel colors. They wanted table arrangements for all the guests and the bouquet for the bride. Ichigo worked on it for countless days. He picked and tried out many flowers from classic roses, to peonies, to carnations, anemones, hydrangeas … Even went out of his way to try blue thistle and silver brunia. It was all perfect. It was all Ichigo wanted to do for the rest of his life.

And it was because he was so engrossed in it that he forgot to mark when it was due. He attempted so many combinations. By the time the party came to pick them up, not all of them were ready. The bouquet for the bride wasn’t made and he had only done half of the table arrangements needed. Ichigo’s chest constricted just thinking about it. Felt tears prick his eyes and his body shake as he tried to hold them all back.

They were yelling at him, their voices shrill. He was sure that everyone could hear it and as repayment for his lack of attention, he gave them what he had and extra money to buy preset bouquets in the next town over. He had lost so much getting the flowers and ribbons tying them all together, he couldn’t pay rent the next month.

Soon, his entire shop was just a mass of boxes filled with furniture, decorations, and some flowers he absolutely cherished. To even get an apartment, he had to sell the majority of it. His precious bees, the rest of his flowers, his shop … His mother’s shop. The shop his mother worked so hard to keep up so he could run it when he grew up. Ichigo numbly exited the place where we grew up that day and placed all the boxes in the mover truck. It was so hard to carry alone. The tons weighed him down.

But he was back. He returned inside to the second level of the three story building and slid the glass door open into the patio. He opened another box and took out some flowers from their pot. He carried the soil over to a larger horizontal set on the patio and transferred the three purple flowers there. They were his mother’s favorite. He was glad he had them in his hands once more.

He was back and he had only one person to thank. From the patio, he could see it. The small succulent shop just two buildings down across the street … He make out the beautiful rock garden and the hanging succulents inside, adding to the rustic feel of the building itself with its wooden signs. If he squinted, he could even see the owner shuffling about, cutting off certain leaves from his plants. Ichigo chuckled.

While in his barely furnished and dirt-stained flat, he never expected a knock on his door from Shirosaki, the owner of said shop. Nor did he expect him holding his package of bees a few feet in front of him, head turned away and his eyes screwed shut. When he talked, his words came out rushed and breathy.

“I got your bees back, can you please take them, I don’t want them in my apartment anymore. Just come with me, we’re driving back to your stupid flower shop.”

“But I –“

“I bought it with money I saved up. Just take the goddamn bees, god …!”

The sight would have made Ichigo laugh under normal circumstances, but what Shirosaki proposed was crazy. He had spent months searching for the buyer of his bees and managed to pay out the tenant who bought his flower shop? He stood there, looking at his ex-neighbor with wide eyes. His mouth opened and shut, unable to form any words. It wasn’t until Shirosaki put down the bees and ran off.

“Jesus, just get in the car when you can!”

Before he knew it, he was back. He was back to his home. Taking in a shaky breath, he headed inside and shut the patio door. He slumped in his couch, shoulders shaking. He felt tears begin to build up, threatening to spill over any second.

He was back and he had only Shirosaki to thank.

Streams of tears cascaded down, staining his cheeks profusely. Ichigo brought up an arm and rubbed at his eyes, still unable to keep them from flowing. He bit his lip, not wanting to sob so loudly. He owed Shiro everything.

And in the middle of the day, Ichigo cried. Sunlight shined through the glass, lighting up the entire room with its boxes scattered about. There was only a table, couch, and picture frame set up, but it was a hundred times more homely than his dirt cheap flat.

The single other thing in the room was another bouquet. Except this time, it was made purely of succulents. Attached to the base of it was a card in flowing handwriting and dotted with flower stamps. It lay directly in a ray of sunlight, lighting it up to show a multitude of shades of green, red, and yellow.

On the card was a single phrase.

_Thank you for everything, Shiro._


End file.
